Mark Borckardt submitted the following information about a couple of auction lots of interest to numismatic bibliophiles and researchers.
-Editor
Two lots in the official American Numismatic Association Auction in Boston will be of special interest to numismatic literature collectors.
The first lot will be in the Platinum Night session (lot 3016). An extra-illustrated, leather-bound edition of Henry Tuckerman's 1859 The Character and Portraits of Washington includes about 90 engravings or lithographs of or related to George Washington. The binding is a fancy custom leather binding by Sangorski and Sutcliffe of London, and the extra illustrations were assembled by Goodspeed's of Boston. Included is an 1773 ALS in Washington's hand, and incorporated in the front cover is an original George Washington gold funeral medal.
A further description is available at:
coins.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=1143&LotIdNo=34001
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Wow! What a bundle of numismatic joy - a great book, a letter signed by Washington himself, and a gold funeral medal. Here's an excerpt from the lot description.
-Editor
Of special interest to numismatists is Appendix III, a list of 49 items of Washingtonia, reprinted from the Boston Transcript edition of February 10, 1859. The list includes fascinating tidbits of information, such as an early account identifying Martha Washington as the model for the 1792 half disme, pedigree information attributing certain pieces to the collections of contemporary numismatists like Jeremiah Colburn and Reverend Finotti, and general observations on Washingtonia in 1859. The item is signed A.S. (possibly Augustus B. Sage).
Perhaps the most interesting feature of the present volume is the oval, gold George Washington Funeral medal, Baker-169, mounted in a recessed pocket of the front cover. This medal was originally designed for women, to be worn in lockets or other jewelry. The pieces were marketed by Eben Moulton, a Boston goldsmith and jeweler, in January 1800.
The second item (lot 5550) is a 30-year correspondence file of B. Max Mehl including testimonial and other letters that Mehl received from various consigners and other parties over a period of 30 years, dating from January 28, 1920 to March 8, 1950.
Letters were received from a veritable who's who of early 20th century numismatics, including James H. Manning, Charles Slack, George Blake, Alex Rosborough, George Bauer, William C. Atwater, Jr. (the son of the Atwater the coin collector), The National McKinley Birthplace Memorial Association, Fred Olsen, William Philpott, Jr., the private secretary of King Farouk, Waldo Newcomer, Charles W. Green, and many others.
A further description is available at:
coins.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=1143&LotIdNo=110001
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Wayne Homren, Editor
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